That won’t stop the speculating, though. I’ve seen all kids of estimates on Twitter and elsewhere about how long Harvin may be out if he indeed needs surgery — anywhere from as little as 4-6 weeks to 3-4 months.

Even trickier to assess would be when Harvin would be 100 percent, both in terms of health and in his integration into the Seattle offense. One reason he was so attractive to the Seahawks was his previous relationship with Seahawk offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell.

So maybe Harvin would be in a better position to miss some time and still quickly pick things up and be in top form for the late-season rush to the playoffs.

Still, you’d obviously rather he be there from the beginning — and given the presence of the 49ers in the division, this is a year when there is little margin for error.

Assuming Harvin misses some time, the other question is what the Seahawks do to compensate.

It’s tempting to assume it would mean a bigger role for Golden Tate, who had a breakout season a year ago and is entering his contract season and more than willing to take on as much responsibility as the team wants to give him.

Tate, though, plays more of an outside role for the Seahawks now while Harvin was slated more to play inside, or in the slot. The player who might actually be impacted more is Doug Baldwin, whose role is more similar to that of Harvin’s than is Tate.

Coach Pete Carroll made that distinction today when asked if a Harvin absence would mean a bigger role for Tate,.

“He (Tate) has played inside and he’s played outside,” Carroll said. “We like Doug inside, too.”

A Harvin absence would also impact the team’s depth at receiver — the four locks to make the team are Sidney Rice, Harvin, Tate and Baldwin, with third-round draftee Chris Harper also almost certain to have a role either on the 53-man or practice squad.

Jermaine Kearse is probably the leader of the rest of the pack, which consists largely of untested, undrafted free agents. In other words, the depth drops off fairly quickly after the top four, which could put quite a bit of pressure on Harper to come along quickly if Harvin is indeed out a while.

For now, though, that’s a question that apparently won’t be answered for a few days, meaning any real answers have to wait.

The Times, though, wants to know tonight what you think if Harvin is indeed out a while: